Empty Nest Happy Hour Podcast Newsletter

Where it’s always happy hour, because the nest is empty.

CHEERS TO 2025! 🥂

Congratulations to everyone who made the magic happen over the holidays. Whether you celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Boxing Day, or a fabulous New Year’s celebration, we are proud of you for coming through the other side!

While we both had our kids home periodically over this past semester, having a full nest for several weeks was yet another adventure in our empty-nest infancy. Now we understand just how quiet (and clean) our houses have been the past three months. We’ll share more on what it was like to have the kids home, and the return of quietness on an upcoming episode.

Our biggest CHEERS though - goes to all of you! Thank you for listening, interacting, and sharing your empty nest stories with us over the past six months. We are excited to kick off 2025 with you and share in all things empty nest and middle age.

Cheers!

Amy and Danielle

Best of 2024 🎉

While it may be 2025, we couldn’t let 2024 go by without highlighting some of our favorite things (even if it did end with the break-up of Paige and Craig).

Amy’s Favorites

Books:

• James by Percival Everett

• The Women by Kristin Hannah

• Medgar & Myrlie by Joy Reid

• Sandwich by Catherine Newman

• The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Television Show:

• Somebody, Somewhere on Max

• Rivals on Hulu/Disney+

Album/Song/Music:

• Women in Pop - Beyoncé, Taylor, Chappell Roan, Charlie XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Tinashe, etc.

Podcast:

• Vibe Check

• Giggly Squad

• Billion Dollar Record Club/Yacht or Nyacht

• Hit Parade with Chris Molanphy

Travel:

• Of course, Paris! But also Charleston, SC and New Orleans

Meal:

• Gas station sandwiches on a random corner in Janesville, WI, waiting for the VP’s motorcade to drive by

Splurge:

• Patio furniture

Word of the Year:

• Abide

Danielle’s Favorites

Five Star Books:

• James by Percival Everett (Tied for #1)

• The Women by Kristin Hannah (Tied for #1)

• Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

• The Wedding People by Alison Espach

• The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

• The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

• The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Television Show:

• The Gilded Age on Max

Album/Song/Music:

• American Boy by Estelle (song)

• The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift (album)

Podcast:

• Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Gallaway

• Bitch Sesh with Casey Wilson and Danielle Schneider

Travel:

• C’est Paris! Of Course!

• Other travel destinations with Amy included Charleston, SC; Washington, DC; New York City; Indianapolis, IN; and Janesville,WI. It was a great year together!

Meal:

• Valhalla (in Chicago) for Producer Liz’s birthday

Splurge:

• CoolSculpting

Word of the Year:

• Growth

BEHIND-THE-SCENES 🔍

New Year, New Look!

Check out our new podcast studio! Our goal is to record some more video content in this space. We just have to remember to do it.

You’ll also start to see some updates to our logos, photos, and website. As we grow, we want to be sure we’re putting our best foot forward. Let us know what you think!

COCKTAILS🍹

We kicked off 2025 with two different New Year drinks (because Amy doesn’t love a champagne drink, and Danielle doesn’t love a ginger beer drink).

Midnight Mule

• 2 ounces of vodka

• ½ ounce fresh lime juice

• Ginger beer to top

• ¾ ounce cranberry juice (optional, for a festive touch)

• Garnish: Lime wedge and fresh cranberries

Kir Impérial

• ½ ounce Chambord

• 4-5 ounces chilled champagne or sparkling wine

• Garnish: Fresh raspberries

WHAT’S COMING UP 🎙️

We heard from you, and we will be covering some of the topics you asked for, some of which include:

• Perimenopause/Menopause

• Parenting adult(ish) children

• Movies

• Books

• Travel

• Tips for parents who are not quite empty nesters yet - like how to survive

Have additional ideas? Email us at [email protected] and let us know what you’d like to talk about.

CONTACT US

Want to reach out? We’re all ears!

Whether it’s to share your empty nest stories, ask us a question, or just say hi—we love hearing from you! You can slide into our DMs (we think that’s the right way to use that term), comment on our posts, or even better, shoot us an email! Because let’s be real, we actually like email. Hit us up at [email protected] and let's chat!

You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads!

Until next time, keep laughing and enjoying the
Empty Nest life. Cheers!